🌱 What does the regulation entail?
The Ecodesign Regulation aims to “improve EU products’ circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects”. On 16 June 2023, the European Parliament and Council approved revisions to the regulation that will make “devices more energy efficient, durable and easier to repair”. These new rules set out minimum requirements for smartphones and tablets sold on the EU market.
🌱 What are the minimum design requirements?
The minimum standards on smartphones and tablets include the “[r]esistance to accidental drops or scratches, protection from dust and water, and use of durable batteries”. Moreover, the Commission has set out that the batteries used in smartphones and tablets need to “withstand at least 800 cycles of charge and discharge while retaining at least 80% of their initial capacity”. There are also “rules on disassembly and repair, including obligations for producers to make critical spare parts available to repairers within 5-10 working days, and until 7 years after the end of sales of the product model on the EU market”. The rules also require the “availability of operating system upgrades for longer periods “, namely “for at least 5 years after the product has been placed on the market”. Finally, under the rules, there is to be “non-discriminatory access for professional repairers to any software or firmware needed for replacement”.
🌱 What impact could the new rules have?
It is estimated that by 2030 the smartphones and tablets, which are produced in line with the new EU standards, could annually save close to 14 terawatt hours of primary energy. This amounts to a third of these devices’ current primary energy consumption.
🌱 What additional ecodesign requirements are planned?
On 15 June 2023, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted its position on the Ecodesign Regulation. The Committee believes that “manufacturers [should] not limit the lifetime of a product through design features and must make available software updates, consumables, spare parts and accessories for an appropriate period”. Its aim “is to make products last longer and be easier to repair, upgrade, [and] recycle” and to assure that “consumers […] have access to repair guidelines”. Under the Committee’s suggestions, relevant products are only to be sold if they come with a “product passport”. It explained that the “passport could enable consumers and businesses to make informed choices […], facilitate repairs and recycling, and increase transparency about the environmental impact”. The Committee notably also seeks to place a “ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and electronic appliances”.
Read more about the Ecodesign Regulation here:
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0142&qid=1686296281605
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32009L0125
Read more about the revisions here:
- https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3315